Some key points:
-William Dorsey Swann was born into slavery, and many of the other drag performers he brought together at drag parties were former slaves or the direct descendants of slaves
-The form of performance common at those performances was the “cakewalk”, which was intended to satirize the mannerisms of plantation owners. This would eventually evolve into voguing and modern drag elements
-These performances were racially integrated (which is likely part of the reason the authorities cracked down on them)
You must log in to comment.